Tomber amoureux du diable

Chapitre 8

The crevice was open to the sky, between two huge rocks. With her injured foot aching more and more, she couldn't support her entire weight. With a whoosh, Zhang Liheng slid into the crevice, almost dropping her gun.

Ignoring her scrapes, she squatted down and turned on her flashlight, nervously surveying her surroundings. She was horrified when she saw that she had fallen onto the top of the cabinet she had just seen. It was a space between two rocks, with the top of the cabinet right under her feet. She stepped on it, but it wasn't hard. Zhang Liheng didn't dare touch it with her hands, afraid of touching something bad.

Looking anxiously for a place to step next to the cabinet, Zhang Liheng only had time to see some child corpses on both sides, dry and tattered, stuck diagonally on the cabinet. The top of the cabinet under her feet could not bear the weight and cracked open, causing her lower body to sink into it. Only her two arms were left to support her on both sides, preventing her from falling in.

Date: 2008-03-18 21:22:00

The feeling of having your feet dangling in the air is extremely uncomfortable, and it feels like your legs below the knees are immersed in a slippery liquid that is cold, wet, and you can't reach the bottom!

This damn cabinet is flexible, and it's not made of metal or wood. It smells like rotten bones, and it hits your nose.

My flashlight fell right in front of me, but I couldn't reach it to pick it up. A beam of light shone in front of my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. I could only grip the crack on the side of the cabinet tightly with my fingers, bracing myself for fear that I would lose control and slip into the liquid inside.

However, the spot where her elbows were supporting her was also being pulled apart little by little. Looking up at the dark ceiling, Zhang Liheng was almost in despair. She didn't know what she wanted to say, what she should say, or what she could say. She could only keep making soft murmurs.

That short minute felt like an hour, and in the end, she helplessly slid into the cabinet.

When Zhang Liheng's feet touched the bottom of the cabinet, the liquid had already reached her chest. The tall cabinet still contained more than half a box of cold, slippery liquid. She didn't know if the rest of the liquid had flowed out through the holes in the mannequins.

The moment she entered the water, Zhang Liheng felt she was on the verge of collapse. She frantically pulled the trigger of her pistol, and with a few muffled thuds, the bullets scattered and embedded themselves in the walls of the cabinet.

Chapter 21 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 21 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

Date: 2008-03-18 23:04:00

Zhang Liheng glanced at me and said, "I don't know where the gun went or if the bullets were all used up. I was soaking in this cabinet, and everything below my chest was cold and wet. For a while, I really thought I would never get out. My nose and mouth were filled with the taste of cold liquid, and there were some small pieces of stuff soaking in the liquid. When I touched my legs, some bounced off, and some were still stuck to my legs."

Later, the liquid inside the cabinet leaked out through the bullet holes and the holes where the nails had been removed. Zhang Liheng, using both hands and feet, managed to climb up the cabinet by gripping the edges of the holes. However, the cabinet, which was originally upside down, couldn't withstand the tossing and turned upside down again, spilling the liquid along with Zhang Liheng. The liquid rolled along the cracks in the stone until it stopped there. After a long time in a daze, I heard Lao Gu and me discussing something, and that's when I finally woke up.

As soon as he heard Zhang Liheng's words, Lao Gu unconsciously shifted his heels and hid behind him.

I grabbed him and asked, "Old Gu, what are you hiding for? Stop sneaking around. Don't you know how bad things are? You're just making things worse!"

Old Gu shuddered: "No, no, I was just really scared. Xiao Zhang, you fell into that liquid, did you touch anything afterwards?"

Zhang Liheng shook her head: "No, when I rolled down, I went through a slippery waterway, and a lot of the slime on my body was wiped off. I wasn't carrying anything in my hands either. If it weren't for this branch, I would have fallen into the waterway and definitely hurt myself."

Old Gu said awkwardly, "When I first heard you mention the human nails and the strange big cabinet, my first thought was that you fell into a coffin. Don't you two think that liquid is coffin fluid? The body buried inside has just started to decompose, forming a lot of autopsy fluid. Of course, it could also be moisture that seeped in. Whatever it is, the coffin that has been specially treated must contain a wet corpse."

Zhang Liheng stared at Lao Gu, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, she bent over, gagging as if she wanted to vomit.

I was also startled, but more than that, I was puzzled: How did Lao Gu know all this? Wasn't he an official in the fisheries supervision department?

Date: 2008-03-19 0:30:00

Old Gu noticed my question and chuckled, "I've been in this reservoir department for a long time, I've seen everything, and I've heard a lot of stories. Don't take my guesses seriously. How could anyone use a child as coffin nails? Impossible. Let's not worry about that for now, let's think about how to get out of here."

Zhang Liheng rested for a while, then slowly stood up. Looking at her dirty clothes, she felt embarrassed. Some of the wet parts were still clinging to her body.

I squeezed the pistol in my pocket. Zhang Liheng said she had fired a few shots, so I wondered if it was a blank. Could there really be a plane crash? But Lao Gu didn't insist that there wasn't. Let's wait and see.

Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, how many secrets does it hold? So many of us are circling around it!

Seeing me straining to look up, Lao Gu leaned closer and said, "This mountain wasn't always like this. I'm very familiar with most of the reservoir area. If there were so many strange and unusual things, including that suddenly appearing swamp, how could I not know? This used to be just a small island, nothing special!"

Whether it's the work of a fugitive with gills or a plane that actually crashed and plunged into the lake, there's no doubt that this island has undergone a dramatic change. I strongly suspect that some earth-shattering change has occurred underwater to reveal so many bodies that should have been resting there. What are we, apart from me, looking for?

I always felt that Lao Gu wasn't lying to me; what he said was quite close to the actual situation. Apart from the fact that the two people who could speak Russian were a bit too suspicious, what major event could involve even the secretary of the county political and legal committee being arrested? There must be a lot of people behind that.

I asked Lao Gu, "What's the deal with that wet corpse in the coffin? You seem to know it all too well?"

Old Gu said, "Actually, there's nothing mysterious about it. Originally, this custom of wet burial existed in Zhejiang. The sealed coffins were filled with liquid, some of which even smelled of Chinese medicine. It was used for preservation, but it oxidized as soon as it was exposed to light, so the cadaver poison and mercury poison it contained were much less potent. Apart from being disgusting, there was nothing wrong with it. When the reservoir area was being relocated before, I found some rotten coffins that had been dug up, and there was still residual liquid inside, so I immediately remembered it."

Date: 2008-03-19 23:19:00

I looked at Zhang Liheng, who also looked bewildered: "I'm dizzy and have no idea where that cabinet went. I'm still feeling nauseous."

There are too many questions and a lot of things to think about. Let's get out of here first. It would be better to get to the top of the mountain. It would be easier to call for help then. Lu Tongchun and Zheng Jian's boats behind us will come looking for us if we lose contact. Staying in this mountain will not bring us any help.

I stopped helping Lao Gu. Zhang Liheng's foot injury was more serious than his; it was probably an ankle injury that made it difficult for her to move. Lao Gu, on the other hand, had been gradually recovering ever since I removed the parasite from his big toe.

Based on what Lao Gu and Zhang Liheng said, I think climbing out won't be difficult. The strange things about this rocky mountain have only happened recently. Whether it's due to external forces or changes in the water, this place is definitely not a long-standing and stable space. Instability means opportunity, and as a veteran who often teeters on the brink of life and death, I certainly want to seize this opportunity.

The three of them slowly climbed up the rock face, but soon realized that this was not a good idea. Both of them had leg injuries, making it extremely difficult to climb up and down. Looking up, they saw that the distance to the top was still far, with no light coming through any cracks in the rocks. They wondered where Zhang Liheng had come from. The branches of the trees became denser as they went up, and they realized that if this big tree broke, the whole mountain might collapse.

Persistence pays off. We walked for a long time, and were covered in sweat. Finally, we arrived at the place where Zhang Liheng had fallen. It was an oval-shaped crevice in the rocks, with many jagged rocks and water flowing out. Could it be the coffin liquid from that coffin? I frowned and leaned in to look.

Chapter 22 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 22 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

Date: 2008-03-20

It was very dark inside. After looking around for a while, I turned to the two of them and said, "Good news, there's wind blowing out. It seems it's not a dead end. Lao Gu, Xiao Zhang, how are you two? Can you manage? Shall we climb up and take a look?"

Old Gu said, "Our legs... why don't you go up and check what's going on first, then call out to us as much as you can?"

Zhang Liheng glanced at Lao Gu and said, "How can that be? What if we run into danger? Don't say so much, you're a grown man! You walk in the middle, I'll follow behind, hurry up." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was hard to refuse.

Old Gu grimaced and took a step forward. I had no choice but to start first, carefully climbing up the rocks while being careful not to get wet. The water was of unknown origin and didn't flow much, trickling down the cracks in the rocks. It was hard to tell what kind of good stuff it was!

The breeze wasn't cool; it was scorching hot. I thought to myself that this path was probably right and led to the surface. I calculated that it was around noon, and as the heat intensified, sunlight gradually began to stream in. My heart leaped with joy, and I shouted to them, "Keep going! Dawn is just ahead, and we'll be out soon!"

After climbing for a short while, I realized something was wrong. Zhang Liheng had overturned the cabinet and placed it across our path, blocking our way. There was only a small gap at the top that we could crawl through. The cabinet was severely deformed, and it looked like it had rolled on the ground. I still hadn't seen the child corpse nails that she mentioned.

Looking around, there really was no other way to go. Old Gu and Zhang Liheng caught up, panting, and were about to ask me why we had stopped when they saw the situation in front of them. When they saw me measuring the distance between the top of the cabinet and the stone wall, they shook their heads together: "No, no, no, we can't climb up there. This cabinet isn't sturdy. What if we fall? Aren't you disgusted by the coffin liquid?"

Date: 2008-03-20 22:11:00

I said with a wry smile, "We have to grit our teeth and go for it! Staying in this godforsaken place, with nowhere to go, if something unexpected happens, we'll all be wiped out."

I led the way, repeatedly telling them to wait until I went over to greet them before setting off.

This large coffin, shaped like a cabinet, was indeed not made of any good material. It was actually quite elastic to the touch. It was neither gold nor iron, and certainly not some precious golden nanmu wood. I didn't have time to examine it closely at the moment. Grasping onto one of the relatively intact corners, I leaped up.

The top of the cabinet was very close to the stone wall. Although I wasn't so close that I couldn't walk without crouching, it was almost like crawling. I just shuffled forward little by little. The most fortunate thing was that this side wasn't broken; there wasn't even a hole for a nail. I tried to climb as fast as I could, while muttering a prayer: "Please don't blame me, please don't blame me. I had no choice but to disturb your peace. If I get out of here alive, I will definitely burn incense for you."

Seeing victory in sight, I was secretly delighted and couldn't help but turn around and shout to tell them to get ready to set off.

At that moment, as I turned my head, I saw a face on the top of the cabinet. In the dim light, I could tell that it was very kind and was smiling at me.

My heart skipped a beat. This was it; I was doomed. I'd have to face all the monsters and demons all by myself.

Upon closer inspection, something's not right. How come this is a woman, and she looks so much like Zhang Liheng?

Date: 2008-03-20 22:24:00

I stopped, held my breath, and hesitated, unable to understand how Zhang Liheng had gotten ahead of me so quickly. I coughed lightly and asked in a low voice, "Is there a path on the side? Xiao Zhang, how come you're moving so fast?"

That face ignored me, still smiling at me, but I noticed something was wrong. The smile on that face was frozen, without any trace of life!

My first thought was, "Did something happen to Zhang Liheng?" The young girl had left a very good impression on me. If something had happened to her, I think I would have burst into tears immediately. But I didn't, because the girl's face looked a little older than Zhang Liheng's; they weren't in the same age group.

So my second thought was, could this old woman be the owner of the coffin? I've been praying for ages and I've always thought it was a male owner, is she blaming me now? Soon, the thought of atheism surfaced, and I thought, at worst, this unfortunate owner hadn't completely decomposed and had fallen out of the coffin, just happened to get stuck here!

I mustered my courage and climbed over, shouting to Lao Gu and the other man to follow. I told them there was no danger here and they should just climb over quickly and without worry.

As I got closer, I touched the pistol in my pocket. Whether it was loaded or not, if I encountered a zombie or something, humph, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'd give you a good shot and turn you from a living ghost into a dead ghost.

The woman's face was right in front of my gun barrel, still smiling, and she didn't seem to be trying to bite me. Because of the backlighting, I really didn't know what to do with this strange thing. I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and prepared to shoot the old woman who was trying to scare me.

When I pulled the trigger, I was shocked to find that there were no bullets!

I was sulking with my eyes closed and teeth clenched. Suddenly, someone gently patted my shoulder, which almost made me faint from fright.

Chapter 23 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 23 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

Date: 2008-03-20 22:39:00

Fortunately, I reacted quickly enough. I swung my arm and used a close-quarters fighting move, smashing it back at the spot where the person had patted me on the shoulder.

A soft, warm hand pressed down on me with unusual strength. Being held down in this cramped space, I couldn't move freely no matter how hard I tried. The hand was also in the right place, right under my raised arm. A wave of numbness and pain shot through me, and my elbow hit the stone wall above my head, immediately drooping down.

I turned my head frantically and saw that Zhang Liheng had climbed up from behind, taking advantage of the favorable position and taking advantage of me.

I was both shocked and furious: "So you're all in cahoots!" I naturally regarded Zhang Liheng as an enemy, but I hadn't figured out who was with whom yet.

Zhang Liheng exclaimed in surprise, "What do you mean, 'in cahoots'? Who's with whom? Huang Ning, are you alright?"

Then I thought to myself, maybe I'm just being paranoid. I know being paranoid is a bad habit, but when things come to a head, I can never control myself. I always think of others as treacherous villains. I was about to argue my point with a red face when Zhang Liheng gestured for me to be quiet: "I just want to ask you, why are you pointing a gun at a portrait of a deceased person?"

I was taken aback: "What portrait? Where is it?"

Zhang Liheng pointed and said, "Look at this in front of you, isn't it just a black and white portrait? I just came over and saw you, lying in front of this portrait, head down, muttering something, and gesturing with a gun. I thought something had happened to you."

Date: 2008-03-20 22:56:00

I was stunned when I heard that. I realized I had been scaring myself! I looked closely, completely incredulous, and sure enough, there was a large portrait of a deceased person stuck to one end of the cabinet, with the face facing me.

I was so angry! I just thought Zhang Liheng was a nice little girl. Although her eyes were a bit far apart, her features were quite lively, and she had a strong personality. I just showed my weakness in front of her!

I muttered to myself, "What are you talking about? I was just resting because I was tired from climbing. And you're telling me, your gun is out of bullets, just a piece of scrap metal. Luckily I found it early, or I would have been in trouble because of you. By the way, where's Lao Gu? Hasn't he caught up yet?"

Zhang Liheng didn't laugh, but I could tell she was mocking me: "Old Gu's leg hurts again, he's in the back. Don't throw the gun away, I need to take it back and explain."

I stuffed the gun back into my pocket, braced myself with my arms, and prepared to crawl forward.

Zhang Liheng, however, stopped me again: "Don't rush, there's something wrong with this portrait, maybe it's not what it seems!"

Date: 2008-03-20 23:49:00

I looked at the portrait again more closely, but I didn't think anything of it. It was still smiling at me, as if it had always been like that when it was alive, with an expression that would never change. I squinted and looked again. Zhang Liheng's eyes must be sharp enough. She said something was wrong with the portrait, and she must have her reasons.

Old Gu followed behind. I heard him humming and groaning, and suddenly it dawned on me that something was missing from the portrait, and something else was also missing!

Zhang Liheng couldn't wait any longer and pointed, saying, "Look at her slightly upturned lips, isn't there not a single tooth showing?"

Old Gu interjected, "Isn't she an old lady? It's normal for her to be toothless!"

Zhang Liheng shook her head: "Not only are there no teeth, but look at the area around your eyes, isn't it covered with something?"

This black and white portrait is not hand-drawn, but a real photograph. Apart from being slightly larger than expected, it has all the necessary elements, such as black borders. The person's age is not as old as Lao Gu claimed. However, it is obvious that the person has no teeth, and there are two small, grayish patches pasted over the eyes, which perfectly match the size of the eye sockets and are not noticeable unless you look closely.

Especially the slightly upturned corners of his mouth, paired with his grayish-white pupils, made this smile look chilling at that moment.

Date: 2008-03-21 16:10:00

The three of us carefully crawled over one by one, and only when we stepped onto the ground did we finally breathe a sigh of relief.